From Doubt to Faith

Rev. Alex Sloter John 1:43-51 From Doubt To Faith Epiphany 2 (1/17/2021) Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Can anything good come from Nazareth? That is Nathanael’s response when Philip tells him about Jesus. Philip says, “We have found the savior, Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael says, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” The question is full of skepticism, cynicism, doubt. The implied answer is, “Of course not. Nothing good has ever come from Nazareth.” But by the end of the story, Nathanael is a different man. His last words are, “You (Jesus) are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.” Quite a change of heart. He moves from doubt to faith. But what moved him? That is what we are going to look at this morning. The movement of Nathanael from doubt to faith. Along the way, we may just find ourselves somewhere in Nathanael’s journey. And we will see three steps in this journey, coming to Christ, being known by Christ, and learning to know Christ in return. Coming to See Christ Our journey begins with a man named Philip. Jesus is about to begin a preaching tour through Galilee, and he says to Philip, “Follow me.” But before Philip gets on the road with Christ, he finds his friend Nathanael and tells him, “We have found the savior.” This is where every Christian journey begins, with someone telling another person, “We have found the savior.” And Nathanael exhibits the response of just about every person when they are first told about Jesus, doubt. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Our Christian journey also began when someone told us about Christ. For most of us, we began our journey in a Christian home. Our parents told us about Jesus. They fulfilled the vows the took at our baptisms by telling us, “We have found the savior.” But whether a person was raised in a Christian home or not, regardless of whether they first heard about Jesus from a parent, a friend, a teacher, or a pastor, doubt usually enters the equation at some point. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Or perhaps, “Can anything good come out of the church? All Christians do is fight. Can the savior really be found there?” “Can anything good come out of Scripture? It all seems backwards, racist, sexist, violent, when compared to our modern understanding of right and wrong. Can the savior really be found there?” “I trusted this pastor or other person who told me about Jesus, but then they betrayed me. Could they have told me about a real savior if they were able to go and do that?” Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Maybe not. But when confronted by Nathanael’s doubt, Philip responds with a simple invitation, “Come and see.” “Don’t take my word for it. Come and meet this man for yourself. Come and see what you will find.” Surprisingly, Nathanael does just that. He goes to see Jesus. Nathanael doesn’t yet have faith. But his journey of faith is well underway. The first step of faith has been taken. Coming to see Christ. Being Known By Christ As Nathanael follows Philip to see Christ, he is probably thinking about the kind of person he might find. It wasn’t unusual in Nathanael’s day for people to show up every once in a while claiming to be Israel’s savior. Once, during one of the apostle Paul’s many arrests, he was confused with an Egyptian Jew who lived in the desert and had gathered a small warband. A few people followed this fellow because he claimed to be the savior. Maybe, Nathanael expected Jesus to be someone like that. Or maybe he was expecting someone like John the Baptist. A man clothed in camel’s hear, preaching repentance in the wilderness. Surely, as he walked toward Christ, he was already trying to categorize him, to fit him into the mold of something he already thought he knew. But before Nathanael even has a chance to speak, Jesus shatters all available categories. He looks at Nathanael and says, “Here is an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanael is taken aback. He and Jesus had never met before. But Jesus seems to know him already. So he asks, “How do you know me?” which is better translated, “From where do you know me?” Or as we might say today, “Have we met before?” It’s like meeting someone in the grocery store. They wave you down and start talking to you like they know you. But you can’t remember who they are at all. You just smile, nod, laugh, and politely excuse yourself by saying that you need an item on the other side of the store. And after they leave, you say to yourself, “I wonder who that was?” They seem to know you, but you don’t know them. That is Nathanael. Jesus knows him, he is an Israelite without deceit, but Nathanael doesn’t know Jesus. But then Jesus does something even more extraordinary. He answers Nathanael’s question, “Have we met?” by saying, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus knew Nathanael, Jesus saw Nathanael, even though Nathanael had never seen or known Christ. Nathanael was found by God before he found God. Before he even realized that he was looking for God. He was known, before he knew anything. And it is this knowledge that leads Nathanael to faith. He says to Christ, “Rabbi (teacher), you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.” Jesus has burst every category that Nathanael could have fit him into. He has revealed his divinity in his knowledge of Nathanael’s heart. He is an Israelite without deceit. And in his seeing of Nathanael before Nathanael ever saw him. But are these two things solely meant to reveal Jesus’ power? Does Jesus reveal himself to Nathanael just to show what he is capable of? I doubt it. Rather, this is exactly how God usually brings men and women to faith. We can’t know God on our own. We can’t find God on our own. We can’t know Christ on our own. We can’t find Christ on our own. First, someone needs to tell us about the savior. But then, if we come to see Jesus for ourselves, Jesus has to do something to reveal himself to us. Our knowledge of who he is, depends on his knowledge of who we are. It is only in Christ’s seeing of us that we come to see Christ. So we come to Jesus like Nathanael, and Jesus reveals himself to us, just like he did to Nathanael, as savior. This is the second step of faith, being known by Christ. Learning to Know Christ One may be forgiven for thinking that Nathanael’s journey of faith is complete. He has confessed, after all, “Jesus, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.” Nathanael has faith. But while he may think that he knows Jesus, he still has a longways to go. So the story of Nathanael ends with these words of Christ, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree?’ Do you believe? You will see greater things than these. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Jesus promises to show Nathanael something greater than his knowledge of who Nathanael is. He promises to show Nathanael who he, Christ, really is. These are the “greater things” that Nathanael would soon see. Throughout the rest of the Gospel, John records works of Jesus that he calls “signs.” A sign is a work of Jesus which reveals Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God and the life-giving savior. When Jesus turns water into wine, that is a sign which reveals his true identity. When he cleanses the temple, that is a sign which reveals his true identity. When Jesus heals the man born blind, that is a sign which reveals his true identity. Jesus is the Son of God and the life-giving savior. Nathanael’s journey of faith includes his initial confession, “You are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.” But Nathanael doesn’t yet understand what he is saying. He doesn’t yet know Christ as Christ knows him. So Jesus promises to show Nathanael greater things, things which will deepen Nathanael’s faith in Christ and his knowledge of Christ, until he comes to know Jesus as Jesus already knows him. John’s entire Gospel was written to create this kind of mature faith. He writes in chapter 20, “These were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.” Whenever Jesus reveals himself to a person and brings her to faith, he places her on a journey towards himself. Towards a place where she comes to know him as he knows her. To a place where she can say with full-knowledge, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, and I have received life in your name.” This is the third step in the journey of faith, coming to know Christ as he already knows you. Our Journey That is Nathanael’s journey of faith, every journey of faith really. First, someone is told about Christ and comes to see him for himself. Then Christ reveals himself to him and brings him to initial faith. That sets him on a journey toward Christ until he comes to know Christ as he already knows him. Where are you on this journey? Maybe you are at the beginning. You’ve been told about Christ, and you’ve come to see Christ. Maybe you’re a young person. Someone who was baptized in the faith, but you’re not sure if the Christian faith is your faith quite yet. Maybe you’re an older person. After all, a person can live in the church for decades without necessarily having faith in Christ. Perhaps that describes you, but now you’re ready to see Christ for yourself. Maybe you’re a skeptic, like our dear Nathanael, unconvinced that anything good can come from the church or from Scripture. To all these people, John (the author of the Gospel) would say, “Come and see.” Come and see for yourself who this Jesus person is. Pray for Christ to reveal himself to you as savior. I am confident that he will. God has never turned away a heart that seeks him. But he would probably add this, come like Nathanael came. Jesus said that he was an Israelite without deceit. That means that he came to Jesus honestly, not looking to disprove or discount him, but sincerely wishing to see whatever he would find. So come like that, without deceit, not looking to discount the reality of Christ, but honestly prepared to see what he will show you. He will show you salvation. Maybe you are in the middle of the journey. Christ has shown himself to you as savior. He has burst every human category you could have fit him into, and you have faith. You are willing to say with Nathanael, “You are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.” Which is to say, “You are the Son of God and Lord of my life.” I have good news for you, your journey has just started. Jesus has much more to show you. Keep coming to Christ. If your faith is strong, come to Christ. If your faith should falter, come to Christ. If you feel as though you know him well, come to Christ. If you feel as though you’ve forgotten what you once knew, come to Christ. He will never reject the heart that seeks him. Come and seek him still. Maybe you’re near the end of your life and the end of your faith journey. Over the years, Jesus has proven himself a faithful friend, a fortress full of God’s help, and a certain savior. Then rejoice. As Paul says, “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” The day is drawing close when you will see the face of Christ and know him fully just as he fully knows you. Stay strong, no matter what comes next for you, whether life or death, your savior will not disappoint you. He will bring you to himself so you can see with your eyes what you already know in your heart. But no matter where we find ourselves on this journey of faith, one thing is certain for all of us. The love of Christ. It is out of love that Christ sends people who know him to people who don’t. It is out of love that he sends people like Philip to people like Nathanael. It is out of love that Christ finds the heart that seeks him and reveals himself as savior. It is out of love that Christ continues to show himself to his people in word, in sacrament, and in the experience of his grace so that we would come to know him as the life-giving savior. If that love did not fail when Jesus faced the cross, then it will not fail us today, now or ever. Let that love call you forward in your journey of faith. Go in peace, people loved by God. Amen.